Good morning and welcome back to another great day in the study of the Word of God. Today we will be looking at the 2nd chapter of 2 Peter. We saw yesterday in chapter one about the effectual and foundational characteristics of growing in God. It was a fantastic study, if you missed it you can find it at The5MC.com under the 2 Peter tab. Today’s study is hard hitting, and so relevant to our world today. The false teachers of God’s Word.
False teaching is mentioned abundantly in the Word of God. The warnings of false teachers come frequently, and they are taught by not just one author in God’s Word but most. Jesus, Paul, Peter, John, Matthew, Mark, Luke, Moses, David, Solomon, you could go on and on as this topic lies in just about every corner of scripture. It is a topic that surfaced as quickly as the day after Jesus ascended back into Heaven. False teaching, man’s ability and desire to distort the true gospel to somehow meet a personal or selfish need. It’s as old as man’s sin nature.
Usually as men were carried along by the Holy Spirit to write God’s Word, they write brief powerful segments of the warnings of false teachings. But here in 2 Peter he dedicated the entire 2nd chapter to just this one topic. My friends, in 66 AD this was a problem for the church and today it is no different. If the gospel of Jesus Christ is knowingly changed or altered in any way for personal gain that individual is a false teacher, delivering false doctrine.
Think about it this way. We see numerous times in God’s Word that He is referenced as “the light.” (John 1:5, John 8:12, 1 John 1:5, John 12:36, James 1:17) We have seen in the previous chapter of 1 Peter, that Jesus Christ is the light and the “centrifugal force” that draws men away from the world and towards God. But what about the opposite? What is the centripetal force? That is the force that pulls people in the opposite direction. The gravitational force that pulls the world and those in it away from the Word of God. These forces are real and they affect each one of use daily. But where are they forces, how do they work and how do we resist one and relent to the other? Great questions, let’s start out with our scripture for the day and then explore it.
“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” 2 Peter 2:1-3
Let’s start by looking at the first part. Peter mentions that there were “false prophets” before but there will be “false teachers” among you. Clearly a delineating time line here. So whats the difference between a false prophet and a false teacher? A prophet can be described as “one being a spokesman for God to man about things previously not revealed.” A man that receives a message from God about future events and is charged by God to reveal them. So, a false prophet would be someone that claims to have a message of the future from God but it is in fact, not from God. In the Old Testament we see a flux of false prophets. You had to be careful to make sure you were listening to a man of God if the prophecy were to be true. But notice Peter is in essence saying we don’t need to look out for false prophets but false teachers, why? Well today if someone claims to be a prophet of God they will soon be proven wrong. You often see some cult that claims the end of the world is coming. I remember in High School one made national news in California as they had bought a compound, locked themselves in it with matching Nikes on, and then all died. The end of the world never came, they were false prophets. But Peter is warning us that today we will need to be very wary of false teachers. They are our concern.
So, what really is a false teacher? Peter tells us clearly in our passage this morning. First of all they will “bring destructive heresies.” They will create distortions and false accounts of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you have pure truth and alter it in any way, it is no longer truth but a distortion of it. You have altered it. This is what a false teacher does. But why? Peter mentions a few reasons here. He specifically mentions “greed” in verse 3. Greed, what an odd word to use when talking about false teachers. But yet here we see one of the ugliest human traits, and with it horrendous things can be done. The root of greed is selfishness and covetousness. A soul that desires to satisfy its own desires at the cost of others. Notice also the use of “false words” in verse 3. In the KJV this is written as “feigned words.” The Greek word for “feigned” is “plastos” where you probably guessed we get our modern word for plastic. You know whats funny about liquid plastic? You can mold or shape it into anything. The user can make plastic do anything. This is quite the picture of a false teacher. Someone that out of greed and selfishness, molds God’s Words into something that will benefit themselves. You can naturally see why Peter spends and entire chapter warning us of these “wolves in sheep’s clothing” (Matt 7:15)
But you might be thinking, “thanks for the warning Peter, but I would never listen to a false teacher and I don’t think anyone else ever would either.” And you would be right in your good intentions..if you knew that the teaching was indeed false. How do you know? If I were to walk into a PHD level astro physics class today, I would have no idea whether the teaching was true or false. I would simply have to either believe the professor or not believe them. But how would I know? Now think about this. There are millions of people that walk into churches all over America every Sunday and they sit down to listen a Pastor expound and teach them the Word of God. If these people don’t know anything about the Word of God, then how will they know of the authenticity of the teaching they are sitting under? Some would say, “well it’s a big church with a steeple on top so I’m assuming they are good.” Or maybe “it’s the closest to my house so I just go here.” I’ve heard all of these and hundreds more as far as why people go to what church. But how do you really know? My friends there is only way. You must know the Word of God in your own heart. And how will you know it? You have to study it. If I were to get my Masters in astro physics, I would then be able to attend that doctorate level class and KNOW if the teaching was false.
So in order to combat false teaching we have a simple solution, study and know the Word of God. But how well do you think the average church member knows the Word of God? We live in a nation where most revere the Bible, but very few actually read it or know what it says. Look at these statistics on the people of the US:
According to 82 percent of Americans, “God helps those who help themselves,” is a Bible verse. Those identified as born-again Christians did better–by one percent. (The Scandal of Bible Illiteracy, Mohler, 2016)
Almost 1 in 5 churchgoers say they never read the Bible. (The Epidemic of Bible Illiteracy in Our Churches, Setzer 2015)
In a single church survey in California, 40% of the congregation could not accurately describe what Salvation in Jesus constitutes. (Through the Bible vlm IV pg 739)
Fewer than half of all US adults can name the four gospels or more than 2 disciples. (The Scandal of Bible Illiteracy, Mohler, 2016)
LifeWay Research found that while 67 percent of Americans believe heaven is a real place, 45 percent believe there are many ways to get there—including 1 in 5 evangelical Christians. (The Epidemic of Bible Illiteracy in Our Churches, Setzer 2015)
A survey of graduating high school seniors revealed that over 50 percent thought that Sodom and Gomorrah were husband and wife. (The Scandal of Bible Illiteracy, Mohler, 2016)
A recent LifeWay research study found only 45 percent of those who regularly attend church read the Bible more than once a week. (The Epidemic of Bible Illiteracy in Our Churches, Setzer 2015)
Alarming indeed as millions of Americans are trying to discern what is true when they have no knowledge of what they are hearing. Peter tells us in verse 2 that “many will follow their sensuality.” Sensuality can be seen as personal. Appealing to our personal senses. The hearers will receive something from the false teaching that pleases them personally. In 2 Timothy 4:3 we have a startling verse from Paul about this same subject.
“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions” 2 Timothy 4:3
You see if you don’t know the truth you will follow someone else that doesn’t know the truth. It’s the blind leading the blind. And as you sit under this seductive false teaching it will please you, it will "suit your own passions." It will make you happy. It will cause an itch in your ears and in order to receive the satisfaction of scratching that itch, you will seek more teaching that pleases the senses.
My friends, today I appeal to you to be cautious of the false teacher. Your only defense is to be trained up mightily in the Word of God. You need to first personally know the truth of scripture before you can identify lack of truth in its teaching. I pray that you are committed to a daily study of God’s Word. In it you will protect you very soul.
God bless you in your day and in your pursuit of the knowledge of God’s Word.
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